MADISON —  

Officials with Sci-Quest Hands-on Science Center announced Friday they plan to move the education and entertainment attraction from Huntsville to Madison.

Its new home will be at 9076 Madison Boulevard in the Madison Village Shopping Center, adjacent to Old Time Pottery. Sci-Quest, the city of Madison and many community partners are working together to aggressively renovate the property with a target goal for the move to be completed in February of 2013.

“When Madison adopted its growth plan earlier this year, the Madison Boulevard corridor was identified as an area in need of reinvestment and redevelopment,” said Madison Mayor Paul Finley. “Sci-Quest choosing to retrofit the former Winn-Dixie space will help further Madison’s vision for that area.”

Director Cyndy Morgan and Board President Randy Lycans said the move also marks the kickoff to a multimillion dollar capital campaign to develop Sci-Quest into a state-of-the-art science center that will be a premier destination for families.

Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle congratulated the center on its plans to move to Madison and wished the project success.

“Our community is fortunate to have two hands-on children’s museums, EarlyWorks in downtown Huntsville and Sci-Quest in Madison, and we appreciate the essential play-based learning experiences that these diverse institutions provide for children and families,” he said.

The center is currently located on the Huntsville campus of Calhoun Community College.

Editions of The News Courier and Limestone County artifacts from the April 27, 2011, tornadoes are set to be part of a new exhibit on that extreme day when 62 tornadoes struck Alabama, including seven in Limestone County. The exhibit is expected to open before the end of the year.

“We are tremendously grateful to Calhoun Community College and the city of Huntsville for their hospitality and support over the years,” Lycans said. “We are excited by the possibilities that this move presents for us to take our visitor experience and educational outreach efforts to the next level. We look forward to a long and rewarding partnership with the city of Madison, the city of Huntsville and the entire Tennessee Valley region.”

The future home of Sci-Quest is about eight miles from the center’s current location at Calhoun Community College and easily accessible from Interstate 565 at the Wall Triana Exit. “Though the distance is short, it’s not an easy undertaking to relocate more than 100 interactive exhibits from one point to another”, noted Morgan, who anticipates that Sci-Quest will have to shut down for a few weeks.  “We will do everything we can to make the transition as smooth as possible for our members and guests. You’ve heard the saying, ‘Pardon Our Progress.’  That’s what we’ll be asking visitors to do. Any disruptions will be well worth it for children and families in the long run.” 

Morgan said the vision is to expand and enhance the Sci-Quest experience by creating a new educational and entertainment attraction like none other in the Tennessee Valley.

Finley said the attraction will benefit Madison.

“Our Madison mission statement focuses on improving the quality of life for our residents. Recent additions such as the Hogan YMCA, Madison Hospital, James Clemens High School, The Shoppes of Madison, and Madison County License facility, have all supported this mission,” he said. “The addition of Sci-Quest continues this mission and gives Madison the opportunity to support Sci-Quest and its vision of becoming the premier hands on science center in the southeast.”